California governor signs bills to protect OHV program

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills Oct. 3 that extend the state’s nationally renowned off-highway vehicle recreation program and provide more stability for the program’s future.

S.B. 249 extends the operation of the California Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program indefinitely, eliminating a provision that historically had required periodic reauthorization and making the program permanent within state parks.

S.B. 159 provides funding for the program.

Without these key pieces of legislation, the program would have ended Dec. 31.

The American Motorcyclist Association was part of a broad coalition that defended the OHV program against opponents who sought its demise. The group worked with legislators for months to rework the originally introduced version of S.B. 249 into an acceptable piece of legislation.